What it is. Preparation and planning of your federal (1040) and New York (IT-201) personal returns by a CPA, tuned to the New York specifics, especially the property-tax relief that matters most on Long Island.
Who it is for. Nassau and Suffolk individuals and families with more than a W-2: business owners, investors, people with equity compensation, multiple-state income, or property, where the return has real decisions in it.
Why local New York knowledge. Long Island residents pay no city income tax, but the property tax is among the nation's highest, so STAR and every relief matter. A preparer who does not know the New York rules leaves money on the table.
Corviniti prepares personal tax returns for Long Island individuals and families: the federal Form 1040 and the New York State IT-201, along with any other states you owe. This is CPA-led preparation and planning for people whose taxes carry real decisions, business owners, investors, equity-compensated employees, and anyone with income across more than one state.
The value in New York is in the details a national chain skips, and on Long Island the biggest is property tax. New York's personal income tax is progressive, currently running from 3.9 percent to 10.9 percent across nine brackets, and unlike New York City residents you owe no city income tax. But Nassau and Suffolk carry some of the highest property tax burdens in the country, so the STAR school-tax relief and the other property programs are worth getting right. New York also lets you itemize on the state return even when you take the federal standard deduction, and applies residency rules that trigger audits when handled carelessly. These are the things that move a Long Island tax bill.
We work with Nassau and Suffolk individuals and families, and because we also serve business owners, we handle the owner's return and the business return together when both apply. Where a personal tax accountant earns the fee is below.
This page sits under Corviniti Accounting in New York City, our New York headquarters. That page covers the full New York City and New York State picture, and links to the rest of our local coverage.
What moves the bill
What changes a Long Island tax bill
The New York specifics that change what you owe, with the numbers: the brackets, no city income tax, the nation-high property tax and STAR, the 529 deduction, and the MCTMT for the self-employed.
The levers on a Long Island personal tax bill. Illustrative, not tax advice.
Residency
Residency and remote work
Moving, earning across state lines, or working remotely for a New York employer each change where your income is taxed. Find your situation.
New York residency and remote-work outcomes. Illustrative, not tax advice.
Filing status
The marriage penalty, federal and New York, by the numbers
Several brackets, caps, and thresholds are not doubled for couples, so two similar earners can owe more married than single. Where it bites, and how it gets managed.
The marriage penalty by the numbers. Current federal and New York law; illustrative, not tax advice.
This is for you if
Your return has outgrown software: business income, equity compensation, or multi-state income.
Your Long Island property tax is high and you are not sure you are getting every relief.
You moved into or out of New York and are not sure how residency affects your return.
You want the personal and business sides handled by one team so nothing falls through the gap.
What you get
Both returns, coordinated The federal 1040 and the New York IT-201, plus any other state you owe.
STAR and property relief The STAR benefit claimed in the right form and the Long Island property-tax picture coordinated with the return.
The New York opportunities The 529 deduction, New York itemizing, and the additions and subtractions a national chain misses.
Year-round planning Equity compensation and capital gains timed, estimates set, and the plan tied to your business return.
How We Help
What you get
Federal and New York personal returns prepared by a CPA, with the property-tax relief that matters most on Long Island.
Both returns, coordinatedThe federal 1040 and the New York IT-201, plus any other state you owe.
STAR and property reliefThe STAR benefit claimed in the right form and the Long Island property-tax picture coordinated with the return.
The New York opportunitiesThe 529 deduction, New York itemizing, and the additions and subtractions a national chain misses.
Year-round planningEquity compensation and capital gains timed, estimates set, and the plan tied to your business return.
When companies bring us in
Your return has outgrown software: business income, equity compensation, or multi-state income.
Your Long Island property tax is high and you are not sure you are getting every relief.
You moved into or out of New York and are not sure how residency affects your return.
You want the personal and business sides handled by one team so nothing falls through the gap.
The Detail
The gaps, and how we close each one
Service 01
When a personal return needs a CPA, not software
A single W-2 and a standard deduction do not need a professional. But the moment income gets more than one source, or a real decision enters the return, self-preparation starts costing more than it saves.
How we handle it
The returns where we earn our fee have real decisions in them: business owners with K-1s and self-employment income; investors with capital gains, dividends, and loss harvesting; employees with equity compensation (RSUs, ISOs, and NQSOs, where the timing and the tax interact); landlords with rental income and depreciation; and anyone with income in more than one state. In each of these the return is a set of choices, and the choices are worth more than the preparation costs. We handle the complexity and, more importantly, plan it before the year closes.
Service 02
New York personal income tax, and no city income tax
New York taxes personal income heavily, but where you live inside New York changes the bill. Long Island residents are treated differently from New York City filers in a way worth understanding.
How we handle it
New York's income tax is progressive, currently 3.9 percent to 10.9 percent across nine brackets, on top of federal tax, with the five lowest bracket rates being cut in small steps through 2027. The Long Island position: unlike residents of New York City or Yonkers, you owe no separate city income tax, which meaningfully lowers the total rate on the same income. New York is also gentler on retirement income than its reputation suggests: Social Security is not taxed, government pensions are fully exempt, and up to 20,000 dollars per person of private pension and IRA income is excluded from age 59 and a half. We make sure your return reflects the New York additions and subtractions correctly and applies the credits you qualify for. One Long Island note for the self-employed: because the region is inside the transportation district, net self-employment earnings over the threshold owe the MCTMT, which we handle on the return.
What you get: A New York return with the additions, subtractions, and credits handled, and the MCTMT for the self-employed.
Service 03
STAR and the nation-high Long Island property tax
Nassau and Suffolk carry some of the highest property-tax burdens in the entire country, and the relief programs that offset them are frequently left unclaimed or claimed in the wrong form. This is the single biggest lever on many Long Island returns.
How we handle it
We make sure you are getting the STAR (School Tax Relief) benefit you qualify for, Basic STAR for most owner-occupants with income up to 500,000 dollars for the credit (250,000 for those still on the older exemption), or Enhanced STAR for eligible homeowners 65 and older, and in the correct form, since New York has shifted many homeowners from the up-front exemption to a STAR credit. We also check the other property-linked items that apply to Nassau and Suffolk homeowners and coordinate the property-tax picture with the rest of the return. With effective rates well above the national median and among the highest absolute bills in the country, capturing every available offset is real money rather than a rounding error, and it is worth reviewing the assessment itself.
What you get: The STAR benefit claimed in the right form and the Long Island property-tax picture coordinated with the return.
Paying a high Long Island property tax bill? Make sure you are getting every relief before you file.
New York offers deductions and treatments that do not exist federally, and that generic software either buries or skips. The clearest example is college savings.
How we handle it
New York lets residents deduct 529 college-savings contributions to New York's plan, up to 5,000 dollars per year (10,000 for a married couple filing jointly), against New York taxable income, with a December 31 contribution deadline. We make sure that deduction is captured and timed, and we look at the other New York-specific moves that apply to your situation: itemizing on the New York return even when you take the federal standard deduction, which New York allows and which often produces a state deduction you would otherwise miss, plus the additions and subtractions that only exist in the New York code. These are small individually and meaningful in total.
Service 05
Residency, part-year, and remote-work returns
New York is aggressive about residency, and remote and hybrid work has made the question harder. Get it wrong and you either overpay or invite one of the audits New York is known for.
How we handle it
We handle the returns where where you live and work is itself the tax question: people who moved into or out of New York during the year (part-year returns and income allocation), Long Island residents earning income in another state (resident credits to avoid double tax), and remote workers navigating New York's convenience of the employer rule, which can tax days worked at home for a New York employer. We allocate income correctly, claim the credits that prevent double taxation, and keep the documentation that answers a residency inquiry before it becomes an audit.
Service 06
Tax planning across the whole year
By the time a personal return is being prepared, the year is closed and most of the levers are gone. The moves that lower a personal tax bill have to be made while the year is still open.
How we handle it
We plan across the year rather than meeting you once at filing: projecting your federal and New York liability so there are no April surprises, timing capital gains and loss harvesting, sizing retirement and 529 contributions before the deadlines, planning the exercise and sale timing on equity compensation, and coordinating estimated payments for those with business or investment income. Families should also claim what New York now offers, including the expanded Empire State Child Credit. For owners, we tie the personal plan to the business return, including the PTET credit, so the two sides are optimized together.
What you get: A year-round plan across federal and New York, tied to your business return when you own one.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a personal tax accountant, or is software enough?
If you have a single W-2 and take the standard deduction, software is probably fine. If you have business income, K-1s, capital gains, equity compensation, rental property, or income in more than one state, the return has real decisions in it that are worth more than the fee, and that is where we help, especially by planning before the year closes.
Do Long Island residents pay a city income tax?
No. Only New York City and Yonkers levy a city income tax; Nassau and Suffolk residents pay New York State income tax only. The bigger Long Island issue is property tax, which is among the highest in the country, so we focus on STAR and the other relief programs.
How do you help with the high Long Island property tax?
We make sure you are getting the STAR benefit you qualify for, Basic or Enhanced, in the correct form, and coordinate the property-tax picture with the rest of the return. Given how high Nassau and Suffolk bills run, capturing every available offset is real money, and it is worth reviewing the assessment itself.
I recently moved to or from Long Island. Does that complicate my taxes?
It can. A move in or out of New York during the year means a part-year return and careful income allocation, and New York scrutinizes residency closely. We handle the allocation, claim the credits that prevent double taxation, and keep the documentation that answers a residency question before it becomes an audit.
Do you handle both my personal and my business taxes?
Yes, and for owners that is the point. We prepare the business return and the personal return together, so the K-1, the PTET credit, and the estimated payments all line up. One team sees both sides.
Do you work with physicians, dentists, and other high-income professionals?
Yes. At your income the moves that matter are the PTET credit if you own the practice, backdoor and mega-backdoor Roth contributions, the net investment income tax and additional Medicare tax thresholds, and managing the practice K-1 alongside the personal return. We plan these while the year is still open.
Do you handle equity compensation, RSUs, ISOs, and stock options?
Yes, and the tax depends on timing. Exercising ISOs can trigger the alternative minimum tax, vested RSUs are usually under-withheld and leave a balance due, and the holding periods decide capital gains versus ordinary rates. We model the exercise and sale timing so the tax is planned ahead of the year-end.
Do you work with real estate investors and landlords on their personal return?
Yes. That means rental income and depreciation, the passive activity loss rules and when the real estate professional status unlocks them, cost segregation, and 1031 exchanges, handled on the personal return where most investors hold property.
Do you handle business owners' personal returns?
Yes, and we prepare the business return alongside it when you have one. The K-1 or Schedule C, the PTET credit, the qualified business income deduction, and the estimated payments connect the two returns, and we keep them lined up so nothing falls through the gap.
Do you work with self-employed tradespeople and independent contractors?
Yes. The items that matter: Schedule C income and the self-employment tax, vehicle, tool, and home-office deductions done correctly, quarterly estimated payments, and whether an S election would lower the self-employment tax as your profit grows.
Do you work with investors and retirees?
Yes. That means capital gains and loss harvesting, dividend and interest income across accounts, required minimum distributions and Roth conversion timing, and New York's favorable treatment of Social Security and pension income. We plan the income timing across the year.
This page summarizes New York State tax rules for general information, and is not tax advice for your situation. Rates and thresholds change; confirm the current figures with the authority before you rely on them.
